Oct 3 U.S. stocks started the fourth quarter on
a weak note as healthcare stocks fell and Deutsche Bank's
travails weighed on financials.

The German lender is working to reach a
settlement with U.S. authorities who have demanded a fine of up
to $14 billion for mis-selling mortgage-baked securities.

While the bank's Frankfurt-listed stock was not
trading due to a public holiday, its U.S.-listed shares
were down 2.7 percent at $12.72 on Monday.

The bank's woes have unsettled investors who are awaiting
third-quarter corporate earnings and the upcoming U.S.
presidential election.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is
expected to unveil a plan on Monday to make it easier for
consumers to take legal action against "bad corporate actors,"
citing Wells Fargo and drugmaker Mylan,
according to a campaign official.

"It's a market that is burning off a little bit of the frost
from overbought conditions of last week, and nervousness is
likely to increase as we get closer to the jobs report on
Friday," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential
Financial.

U.S. stocks marked their best quarter of the year after
closing sharply higher on Friday.

The dollar index rose 0.3 percent after a report
showed U.S. factories ramped up activity in September, shaking
off a contraction in the previous month.

However, market reaction to the data was muted as investors
await a crucial report on month hiring activity on Friday which
will play a big role in the Federal Reserve's decision to raise
interest rates this year.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were lower, with
utilities falling the most by 1.39 percent.

At 10:59 a.m. ET (1659 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial
Average was down 52.42 points, or 0.29 percent, at
18,255.73.

The S&P 500 was down 6.03 points, or 0.28 percent, at
2,162.24 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 8.07 points,
or 0.15 percent, at 5,303.94.

The S&P 500 healthcare sector was down 0.5 percent
and was the biggest drag on the benchmark index, followed by
financials, which fell 0.23 percent.